Running from the Past
by trentp100
Summary: A space pod lands on Earth shortly after the defeat of Buu. Within lies a battered saiyan once held in a state similar to Vegeta's, without the benefit of a super saiyan arising to end his bondage prematurely. Met with suspicion and chased by demons both physical and mental, can Tercres find shelter on Earth? He needs to survive its defenders first!
1. Landfall

Landfall

With a thunderous roar the meteor overshot the mountain range, rattling stones and waking animals unfortunate enough to lie in the vicinity. The object finally impacted the ground, creating a scoured clearing on a rocky plateau, and as the smoke cleared from the landing site it revealed not a meteorite, but instead a ship. The spherical craft, recognizable as a saiyan pod to one familiar with the Planet Trade Organization, seemed on its last legs: scorch marks marred almost the entirety of its hull, and there were ragged holes across the left side next to the hatch.

As the ravaged pod settled into its final resting place, the hatch began to haltingly slide open. Halfway down, it seemed to suddenly jar to a stop, until with a sound like a gong being struck it curled outwards, blown open by some tremendous blow. Bloodied hands grasped the mantle of the hatch, and a thick head of unruly hair appeared from within the pod, swiftly followed by a bulky figure dressed in the shambles of a uniform sitting on shattered PTO armor. The figure pulled its way clear of the pod, then seemed to flag in strength, collapsing to its knees and desperately clutching at its waist to pull free a crumpled sheet. Clutching it with a desperate grip the figure fell over and embraced unconsciousness, as the strange belt around its waist unraveled a little to reveal itself as a furry tail.

"Chichi, did you hear that?" Goku asked the prone form next to him in the bed. Seeing that he wasn't going to get a coherent answer from the comatose woman, Goku roused himself from his half-slumber, and quickly donned his familiar orange training gi before taking off in the direction he had sensed the ki presence arrive and fade. While it was nowhere near a threatening level, even to one of the weaker human Z-fighters, it had been far greater than that of an ordinary human or animal, and Goku nothing if not curious about what caused such rapid fluctuation in the energy, from nothing, to something, and then gone again. Not gone, he realized as he flew nearer, just drastically weaker. Whoever he was sensing, Goku decided, was either an expert at hiding their power, or else severely injured or even dying. The thought of this new presence in danger spurred the saiyan on, and he drastically increased his speed, breaking the sound barrier with a CRACK before rocketing towards the faint energy signature. His flight came to a sharp halt when he came in view of the crater. "What a minute," he thought "that looks like a saiyan pod like what Vegeta and Nappa arrived in!"

Now wary of the possibility of hostility Goku slowly lowered himself down to the charred impact crater, carefully scanning his surroundings for trouble and searching again for the faint ki signature. He locked on to it just as his eyes fell on the fallen figure slumped a few feet from the bent pod hatch. As he moved closer Goku made out more details, "Man, whoever this is he really found a good fight!" he thought to himself as he surveyed the mauled and bloodstained clothing the strange man bore. "Yep, this guy really got his..." Goku's train of thought trailed to an abrupt halt has his gaze finally fell to the brown tail mostly curled about the man, the _saiyan_ 's waist. "Oh wow, another saiyan! I can't wait to tell Vegeta!" the naïve hero of Earth excitedly thought, as he picked up the unconscious kinsman and began to fly towards capsule corp. In his excitement, Goku never noticed the crumpled page still tightly held in one of the newcomer's ragged hands.


	2. Introductions

**Please leave a review with any comments or criticism you may have. I appreciate it, as this is my first story and I am glad for opportunities to improve it!**

Introductions

The inhabitants of the Capsule Corp building were very light sleepers. Even before the arrival of a half-saiyan toddler, the Saiyan Prince kept himself alert at all hours, and with young Trunks' habit of midnight awakenings the other adults in the building joined Vegeta in sleeping with an ear out for any disturbance. Of course the _other_ Trunks' arrival from the future didn't help this state, accustomed as he was to living in constant vigilance of androids it was a wonder when the time traveler managed a solid four hours of sleep. With all this unrest, Goku's approach did not go unnoticed, and by the time he touched down on the back lawn he found Vegeta and Trunks awaiting him, with Bulma standing a short distance behind cradling a still comatose baby Trunks. The lights and smells from the kitchen alerted Goku to Mrs. Briefs' presence as well, and the saiyan resisted the urge to check what the woman had busied herself in making.

Before Goku could start Vegeta stepped forward, "why are you here Kakarott?" he asked, "and where did you get the weakling?" he finished with a smirk. He never is one for ceremony, Goku thought, "Hey Vegeta, Trunks, I found him at a crashed pod just like what you and Nappa came here in!" Goku brightly explained, "Turns out, he's a saiyan too! I thought, since he's hurt and all we could help hi-"was as far as he got before Vegeta angrily cut in " _we_ aren't going to do anything for him until we know why he's here." He continued "I can think of one reason why a PTO saiyan would land on Earth Kakarott, and that's certainly not to smell the flowers." At this point Trunks spoke up "I have to agree with Father, what if this saiyan came here to purge the planet?" "Even if his power seems pathetic next to our own," Vegeta added with arrogance.

"Yeah, I guess you guys are right," Goku admitted, scratching the back of his head, "I forgot what you were like when you first came here Vegeta." He finished with a good-natured chuckle. "Hmph," Vegeta huffed, "whatever clown." He stated, turning around to return to the embrace of both his bed and his blue haired companion. Trunks turned to leave, when something caught his eye, "Goku, I think there's something in his hand." Looking down, Goku saw it too, "hey you're right Trunks! Can you grab it for me, my hands are a little full, haha,"

As Trunks bent over and grabbed the hand to try and loosen its grasp on whatever it held he couldn't help but wince at the smell of blood, both new and old, that he picked up from the saiyan's clothing and, as he looked more closely, the saiyan himself. Ignoring the pitiful state of the man in Goku's arm for now, Trunks instead focused on prying open the ragged palm in front of him. It took a surprising effort to lever open the hand, and finally get what was revealed as a sheet of what looked almost like paper to drop to the ground. "Well this guy didn't want to drop this, whatever it is," Trunks remarked. Opening the crumpled and bloodstained page, he frowned, "Father! Can you read this? It's in some language I've never seen before," Vegeta, who had been standing, arms crossed and head held high, and pointedly avoiding eye contact with the other two Z-fighters, turned around at that and briskly strode over. Grabbing the sheet, he grumbled "What makes you think I'll be able to-" the prince began, before his eyes narrowed and began cycling through the lines of symbols on the crumpled page. Trunks noticed the near imperceptible widening of his father's eyes, "Father, what is that? What does it say?" Glancing up at his future progeny, Vegeta started "This is a bounty from the Planet Trade Organization," Shifting his gaze to the ragged Saiyan in Goku's grip, he continued, "It calls for the capture and execution of the saiyan 'Tercres the Grim' for…" at this point the Saiyan Prince broke into a predatory smile before continuing, "-the killing of Lord Cooler and his Armoured Squadron."

Before anyone could say anymore Vegeta tilted his head back and laughed with sadistic mirth, "oh that is precious! The final member of that worthless family killed by saiyan hand!" Interjecting before his father could continue Trunks interjected "Who is lord cooler?" Sobering up a little at the mention of that name Vegeta turned to face Trunks, "He is, or he _was_ " Vegeta amended, smirking, "the elder brother of Frieza, and the final living member of that whole wretched family." Seeing a chance to ask what he'd been holding onto since Vegeta read the bounty, Goku quickly asked "So you guys think he's good now? After all he killed Cooler right?" Goku finished with a grin. "Of course we will help him!" Bulma all but shouted, as she finally gave kid Trunks off to her mother and rushed within earshot of the conversation. "He needs our help, I mean look at him! I can see more blood than I can his skin, quick Goku get him to the infirmary," Bulma reeled off, grabbing Goku's forearm and steering him towards the building. "Hold still woman!" Vegeta snapped, stepping in her path.

"He could still be a threat to-" was as far as he got before Bulma reached him, and let him have it, "VEGETA! He's practically dead! Only those insane saiyan genetics are keeping him alive at all! Now let me get him to the infirmary and then we can talk." Seeing the flash of angry indignation behind her lover's eyes forced Bulma to continue, lower and huskier, "Besides, I'm sure my big strong prince can protect us from whatever the big bad saiyan could do…" Seeing his eyes widen a little and the confident smirk reappear on his face was all Bulma needed to continue on past him, pulling a hapless Goku along.

After bringing him into the light the first thing they noticed was the massive scarring on the young man's face. A harsh line stretched from the right end of the mouth all the way to the ear, before looping downward into a wide area of scar tissue under the jaw. "What could have caused this kind of injury?" Bulma asked, a little unsure if she wanted an answer. She realized she didn't when Vegeta responded brusquely "It is consistent with the aftereffects of ripping out the lower jaw and then surgically repairing it, although the scarring looks like it stretched. Must have happened when he was a boy." Both Bulma and Goku blanched a little at that, neither wanting to ask how Vegeta knew what such an injury looked like, and eager to continue with the examination. After removing most of Tercres' attire even Vegeta was shocked at the condition the younger saiyan was in. The left arm looked like little more than shredded meat about the bones, and the left hand was short the last three fingers. The torso was little better, several ribs protruding from the skin, and two deep holes in the lower left side, but this was at least somewhat familiar to all involved, Vegeta and Goku had suffered their fair share of such rib injuries. When Goku first laid him down on the table Bulma had flinched at the right leg, which flopped and bent at sickening angles. A quick X-ray showed that the bones of the leg had fractured at least three times, and the tibia had snapped completely. "Do you think he'll be okay Vegeta?" Bulma asked, as she finished bandaging Tercres and splinting his leg as best she could. "He should live, and Kakarott said there would be some of those damned senzu beans ready in a few weeks, and that should return him to peak condition." "Oh that's a relief," Bulma exhaled, "I almost don't even want to try to set his leg, that thing is so twisted up it's not even funny," huddling closer to Vegeta she continued "what do you think did all that to him 'Geta?"

As Bulma looked up to him from his arm's embrace Vegeta thought for a minute before answering. "It would have been a fierce battle, the boy didn't prepare enough to come out looking like this."

 **Two Months Prior**

As he kneeled before his nominal lord and awaited his command, Tercres could think of only his looming vengeance. After years of suffering the cruelties of Cooler and his lackeys, adapting and honing his fighting skills for every new challenge, and too many dips in a regeneration tank to count, he knew that if he could get just a little more power, he could CRUSH his tormentor once and for all. As it stood he knew that he was probably about as powerful as Cooler, but he had seen too many fights between equals come down to one man slipping in blood or dodging left instead of right to be comfortable taking on someone as crafty as Cooler without a clear advantage.

So engrossed by his fantasy he was that Tercres missed his "master's" commands, "are you listening, you stupid monkey?" came the familiar rebuke, "I am sorry Lord Cooler, I must not have been listening closely enough." Came the formulaic reply. Also expected was the familiar tail strike across the face, "Of course you weren't listening, that would require you to have a working brain, _monkey_ ," Cooler spit out. "I said, you are sent to planet 3-86 N, to clear the contract that has sat unfulfilled for nearly 15 years." Tercres felt a chill in his veins. That planet had been the death of Frieza and Cold, and the energy spikes PTO picked up within the last cycle had been higher than anything yet recorded. To be so close to his goal, and then be given the death sentence like this! "Fine," he thought resignedly, "Now's as good a time as any." Giving the required obeisance, he got to his feet. As cooler turned from him he hesitated for a split second, "what is it, did you forget your orders already monkey?" Any hesitation vanished at that moment, "Fuck it." Tercres muttered, as he leaped forward, arm cocked back.

As Cooler turned, ready administer the beating his pet deserved after speaking in such a fashion, he caught Tercres' fist straight to the face. "How DARE you strike me, MONKEY!" he shouted, turning back towards Tercres and lashing with his tail. Sidestepping the whipping appendage, Tercres responded with another punch, this time Cooler caught it, and threw his own with the other hand. He caught Tercres in the ribs once, twice, then found his hand likewise entrapped by Tercres' own. They stood at a deadlock for a brief moment before the saiyan threw his head forward into Cooler's with a resounding crack. Following up with a left cross the tyrant was thrown across the room into the wall, where he quickly regained his feet, staring at the straight faced saiyan before him. "You know, I regret giving you that lovely scar, boy. It takes away from what I'm about to do to you that I cannot see the fear in your expression." So saying, Cooler stepped into a wide stance, and power surged through his body, as it started to grow. Seeing his chance, Tercres gathered energy in his right hand before leaping at the transforming alien. With a room shaking BANG his **Massacre sledge** impacted Cooler in his newly expanded abdomen, punching through the skin slightly before exploding with red ki. "ARRGH! WRETCHED MONKEY!" Cooler shouted, now fully transformed, before holding up a blast of his own to Tercres' face. The second before he released it, the saiyan forced his hand to meet Coolers, then dragged the arm to the side. Right before his oppressor released the blast, Tercres had time for one thought, "Shit, I hope it doesn't blow too much of that off-" The two combatants were blown apart, and impacted the walls of the now debris strewn throne room.

Cooler clutched at a charred hole in his stomach, but his pained expression vanished upon looking at his opponent. Tercres clutched with his right arm at what remained of his left. He almost didn't want to look, and when he did it came as no surprise the damage done to his arm. He considered himself an expert on pain, and this was an exquisite agony that Cooler had visited upon him. Looking up at the figure opposite him, Cooler was practically steaming with rage. More importantly, as he felt out the energy of his foe (a useful trick he learned from a particularly difficult purge mission) he estimated it to near his own strength, possibly less. He still had a chance as long as he finished Cooler off before any of his lackeys could intervene. Embracing the pain of his arm and dropping it to his side, he prepared for the finish. "Okay you purple bastard, time for round two." He thought, and with a primal cry the two dashed forward again.


	3. Questions

Questions

 **Present**

The bed first caught his attention. The last thing Tercres remembered was collapsing outside his pod, and this certainly wasn't the rocky ground he was laying on. If not for the comfort he might have feared being found by the PTO, but no cot or table was this comfortable in the Planet Trade Organization. Fairly certain that he wasn't about to be tortured to death, the saiyan decided to open his eyes and look around.

The room was almost bare, with only a low machine next to the bed to break up the monotony of the place. He could hear a faint hum emanating from the machine, and it appeared to be attached to him through some tubing running through his arm. Everything was an absurd soft white color, and Tercres closed his eyes in irritation at the seeming brightness of the overhead lights. "Huh, Vegeta does the same thing when he wakes up here," With a start of surprise Tercres tried to lurch upright, only to be stopped by a slender hand on his shoulder from above. "Don't get up, are you crazy!" A blue haired human female had sat unnoticed behind his bed, and now her voice softened and she spoke again, "You're safe here, I am Bulma Brief" She said, gesturing to herself, "My friend Goku brought you here after you crashed." Finishing her statement, the woman-Bulma, she said her name was, stood up and walked to the door. "If you need something call, I think my…husband, and his friend are going to ask you some questions in a little bit, so you should rest and prepare yourself," she finished with a slight smile, before turning and walking out, the door sliding shut behind her.

"Well I'm alive, so far so good," Tercres thought to himself afterwards. "If only I hadn't run into that asteroid field on the way here, the stupid pod might have kept atmosphere and I wouldn't have passed out so soon after landing" The memory of gasping for breath, watching the planet grow in the hatch window elicited a grim chuckle from the scarred patient. "To think, the scourge of the north and killer of Cooler succumbing to suffocation over some backwater planet." The door slid open, interrupting his ruminations, and Vegeta strode in.

Tercres stared at the prince, expression unreadable. A scornful eye roll met his gaze, and the prince began, "Why are you here, weakling?" Indignation crossed Tercres features, and he opened his mouth angrily to reply, thinking, 'Weakling?' "I-""Yes, Weakling!" Vegeta interrupted, "You may have beaten that overgrown lizard, but you're still far behind all those with saiyan blood." Tercres snorted with disdain 'so what, him? There are no more saiyans.' "Hmpf," Vegeta replied, and as if he read Tercres mind, not deigning to meet Tercres eyes, he continued "There are five of saiyan blood not including you, on this planet" Tercres eyes widened, 'What! More saiyans?' At this Vegeta strode to the edge of the bed, and swiftly grabbed Tercres by the neck.

Vegeta had yet to apply any pressure to his neck, but Tercres knew that 'yet' could disappear at any moment, and he still hadn't answered the prince's question. "Fine, fine," He got out, staring up at eyes bearing the remorseless look he himself had mastered, "Everyone who came here died. When I killed Cooler I thought myself strong enough to survive here, or at least prove where my loyalties lay with Cooler's death." At this, an expression of amusement crossed Vegeta's face. "Your strength is nothing, you remain alive only because you rid the universe of that scum." At this he released his hand from Tercres' neck. "We can't heal you," Vegeta began, stonily staring at the closed door. Forestalling commentary with a hand, he continued "But Kakarott will have something to help you in a week. Until then don't touch my wife, my child, or my house or," And at this the prince's stoicism was replaced with a bloodthirsty grin very familiar to Tercres, "I'll dismantle you and leave your chunks scattered across the continent." Satisfied the warning had registered Vegeta turned and briskly strode out, leaving Tercres alone once more.

Standing at the end of the hall as Vegeta exited the room were the main reasons he was wary around his strange houseguest. "Who is he dad? Are you gonna fight him? Can I fight him!?" Trunks could barely contain himself, the thought of his father, or even better himself getting into a good fight with some stranger from space was almost too much for him to handle. "Yes, who is he Vegeta?" Came the more measured question from Bulma. Crossing his arms over his chest and reclining against the wall, Vegeta glanced down at Trunks' wide eyes then up at those of his wife before staring past them and beginning. "The boy served Cooler," At this he met Bulma's questioning stare, and by a slight confirmed her unspoken question; the boy had been Cooler's slave as Vegeta had been Frieza's. "After he killed Cooler he went to the one place none in the PTO could follow," Vegeta continued, "Earth." "Who's Cooler?" Trunks asked, confused by the innocuous name. "He was a tyrant, the leader of the Planet Trade Organization after Future you killed Frieza and Cold," Vegeta answered. "So that," Trunks started, gesturing towards the occupied room "person is good?" Looking at his son's eager face Vegeta's shoulder dropped almost imperceptibly before he began again, "Remember what I told you of myself?" He asked Trunks, this time meeting and holding his gaze. At the boy's nod the prince continued, "That is his past, and he won't change quickly, so keep your guard up boy," Seeing the sudden consternation in the eyes of his family Vegeta quickly continued "You're stronger than he is Trunks," Trunks' head shot up, but he was forestalled by his father's raised hand; "He is weaker than all of saiyan blood here, but Trunks I want you to keep your guard up, because we do not know him." Satisfied his point had been made Vegeta turned and strode around the corner, "Now where is that blasted woman with her cooking?" he muttered as the kitchen beckoned to his saiyan appetite.

Tercres' mind reeled with implications: more of saiyan blood, and all stronger than he was? He knew himself to be one of the strongest in the universe, following the defeat of Cooler Tercres didn't know of anyone else of the same strength. 'Except, apparently, for the saiyans of this planet' He thought to himself, 'If I could train with them to become stronger…' Caught in musing Tercres' fatigue abruptly caught up to him and darkness filled his vision once more.

Walking into the kitchen did not produce the blond haired woman Vegeta sought after, but did reveal his future son, leaning against the far wall in a pose all too familiar to the saiyan prince. "I heard you talk with mother and…me" Mirai Trunks started, "But I heard what you didn't say either father." Standing up from his slouch he continued "I saw how you looked at him when we first cleaned him up. You knew about him already, didn't you?" A glance into the steely eyes opposing him dismissed any thoughts Vegeta had about lying, and with a sigh he began "It was in the last years of my captivity under Frieza. Cooler met with Frieza to discuss some boundaries and administration for the Organization. I was forced to attend by the lizard to spite Cooler. But on arrival Cooler boasted a saiyan of his own, a whelp barely old enough to speak. Apparently his parents had been refugees from Planet Vegeta's destruction, and Cooler had found them only days previously. He killed the parents and took the spawn, and for the first minutes I knew the boy he was crying." At this Vegeta clenched his fists and looked at his feet, "I couldn't do anything; the Prince of all Saiyans reduced to a spectator to the torment of his subject, my last subject for all I knew; all I did was watch as Cooler wedged two fingers under the boy's jaw, and _pulled_." Trunks' face grew harder and his gaze stonier, but Vegeta was not finished. "For the next few years after that there were stories: the grim saiyan, he never smiled, he never laughed, even Cooler's soldiers were nervous about him, and last I heard before heading to Earth, he grew ever stronger," Vegeta finally finished. "What did you learn from talking to him father?" Trunks asked, "Is he, you know…sane?" Vegeta considered what exactly constituted sane, then appraised his own mind, before opening his mouth to speak, "I don't know," He finally got out. "He wanted to rest after killing Cooler, and thought he would be safe here, after the reputation Earth got when you killed Frieza and his father." "Until he gets that blasted bean he's not a threat to anyone, we can interrogate him further then." Trunks thought about his father's words for a minute before agreeing, "We do need to find out what he plans to do, who knows what's broken in that mind?"

As his father strode away Trunks sighed He had returned to this timeline after ridding his own of the android menaces. He had been looking forward to some time with the Z fighters and his family before going back and beginning the rebuilding process of his world. But now this saiyan's arrival had thrown this all out of sync. Now Trunks wasn't sure if his friends were making the right choice in healing the stranger they knew next to nothing about. Vegeta had told him some of what he experienced under Frieza, and the thought that their guest had undergone the same kind of treatment stayed his hand from attempting to convince the others of the danger he could pose…for now at least.

 **Two Months Prior, Cooler's Ship**

Tercres and Cooler launched at each other, exchanging a flurry of strikes and kicks. Most were blocked, but Tercres' shredded arm and reduced hand allowed Cooler to repeatedly break through his left side guard. After the third strike the saiyan felt a sickening CRACK, and pain flooded his torso. "ARRGH!" He shouted, suddenly bringing his knee into Cooler's wound and sending the lizard back several meters. A glance at the locus of the pain showed Tercres all he needed to know; several ribs were visible exiting his body, he counted himself lucky one hadn't lodged in his lungs. When his gaze shifted back to Cooler however he felt a satisfaction like nothing before. The armored form before him was hunched and panting, and his abdomen bore a gaping wound that continued to dribble blood onto the metal floor.

In Cooler's mind his wound wasn't even the worst part of the fight. The worst part had to be the continued lack of expression on his rebellious pet's face. Rage or resentment he could understand, but steely fortitude best fit the expression on Tercres' face, and it disquieted his otherwise confident mind. "Very good, _monkey_ , you managed to damage me," He started, attempting to get a rise out of his rebellious charge. "Of course, just like the rest of your filthy species your efforts will amount to NOTHING!" Cooler finished, eager to see the effect his insult would have on the saiyan's pride. When the figure before him didn't indicate having even heard the barb, much less any inclination to react on it, the disquieting murmurs in Cooler's subconscious became a roar, and with nothing but rage and desire to see his opponent dead at his feet the tyrant charged for Tercres.

Cooler may have been less willing to give in to his anger if he had known why his words had no effect. Tercres considered himself a man above his emotions, yet even he would likely have given in to thoughts of revenge if he had heard the jab Cooler spat at him. However one of Cooler's first attacks to his head had shaken his eardrums, all that the saiyan could hear was blood pumping through his head, and a constant dull roar. He noticed Cooler talking, but as he couldn't hear the statement, he obviously didn't react. When Cooler seemed to suddenly lose his reserve and charged suddenly back into the fray however he immediately noted the difference in the fight. Ducking under a wild swing and retaliating with a brutal uppercut Tercres saw that the game had changed. 'He's getting sloppy,' the saiyan thought, sidestepping another vicious, but poorly aimed kick, 'I need to end this before he actually lands one of those.'

Tercres returned to the offensive after dodging a series of inaccurate blows, hammering Cooler in the face twice with his good hand and forcing the purple fighter to bring his guard up. The next time Cooler threw a punch with his left Tercres swayed to his right, at the same time turning and grabbing his opponent's wrist. Before Cooler could react Tercres wrenched the limb downward, at the same time bringing his knee up, and with a sickening SNAP the armored limb bent and broke, and as Cooler pulled out of his grip with an anguished yell Tercres saw his left arm hanging limp, much like his own mutilated limb.

The next part would be tricky, Tercres knew; he could hurt Cooler, but what he needed was a _killing_ blow. Thinking of his options, the saiyan grimaced, 'either way, this is gonna hurt, a lot,' Resolved on his course of action Tercres watched Cooler as the larger armored form tried in vain to move its broken arm, before returning Tercres' gaze with a stare of hate. "I'll KILL YOU!" Cooler roared as he recklessly charged the saiyan again. Not fully realizing the extent that his injury would affect his fighting style, he led with his left, leaving himself wide open, in one of the last mistakes Cooler would ever make.


	4. Breaking Away

Breaking Away

 **Two Months Prior, Cooler's Ship**

As Cooler rushed him, Tercres leapt forward, already channeling energy into his left leg, and grabbed for the tyrant's head. His right hand found purchase on one of the horns protruding from his enemy's skull, and he latched on with all his might. Cooler quickly began to pummel Tercres' torso with his good hand, but the saiyan merely gritted his teeth and kept his grip, as his left knee began to glow with energy. Seeing what his adversary had planned Cooler started thrashing in Tercres grip, desperate to escape. Rearing back, he slammed his foot into Tercres right knee at an oblique angle, jamming it out of place with a squishy POP. Tercres could feel the kneecap edging out of his skin, and every slight motion of the leg caused it to slide more and more, increasing the blood flow and worsening the pain. But he gritted his teeth and held on, he _needed_ to hold out or else he was a dead saiyan. Sensing his freedom was close Cooler retracted his foot, only to immediately lash out with it again, this time lower on Tercres leg. At the third strike, a CRACK rang through the room, and Tercres nearly shattered teeth clenching his jaw at the pain.

When Cooler continued to kick at his now doubly broken leg Tercres reached his limit, "AHHHHHHGH!" he screamed, pain escaping his body from years of quiet suffering. He continued screaming as he pulled Cooler downward with his body, bringing up his knee in a **massacre sledge** , impacting the tyrant right under the chin with the energy he had been focusing while holding his opponent close.

Cooler had exalted in the scream he had finally cajoled out of his rebellious and long quiet pet, and continued to laugh as he repeatedly kicked at Tercres' right leg, further mangling it. When he found himself being pulled downward by his opponent Cooler's laughter only hitched slightly, so distracted was the ruler.

When Tercres' knee hit, it slammed Cooler's jaw shut. He had the briefest moment of confusion at what had happened before energy exploded from the impact point. With a red flash of ki Cooler's head was blown clean off his body, ripping from its threadbare neck to bounce against the ceiling before coming to rest next to the collapsed body it sat atop until now.

Hobbling to the prone body of his lifelong oppressor, Tercres scanned the room out of habit before letting a grim smile cross his features. As he stood over his fallen adversary his mind seemed to cloud. Suddenly dizzy, Tercres knelt next to the corpse, reeling from his wounds as well as the bizarre impulses filling his head. Leaning over the body, his stomach seemed to growl, and as his blood pounded through his temples his mouth began to water as well. Responding to some primitive desire locked in his saiyan genes, Tercres formed a ki blade with his functional hand and brought it to bear on the body, slicing a generous chunk from the edge of the ravaged torso. The first bite was hesitant, the next one considerably less so, and soon Tercres found himself sated at the remains of a decimated carcass.

His mind suddenly seemed to clear from its fugue, and Tercres shoved himself to his feet, ignoring the compounding pains in his leg with his desire to flee the scene of his brutality. He knew that he needed to get as far as possible from the scene before anyone with any power came around and found him so weakened. The only bargaining chip he had was his killing of Cooler, and he needed some proof of that much. Thinking for a moment, Tercres turned towards the communications center. After a painful hobble, the door to the center stood in front of him. As he entered, Tercres took a brief glance around and almost imperceptibly sighed in relief. The only other person in the room was Brax, and the technician would easily bow to his whim. "Brax." At his name the diminutive purple alien turned around, and visibly paled at the bloody saiyan before him. Before he could say anything Tercres continued, keeping the same menacing monotone "Write a bounty, someone killed Lord Cooler."

If Brax had paled at the sight of Tercres, this news turned him almost white. Swallowing his terror for the moment, Brax set down to typing out the report, after all the Organization was filled with stories of those who angered the saiyan in front of him. "Certainly Tercres," Brax responded, eager to get this trial over with, "do you know who killed Lord C-Cooler?" he asked hesitantly. At that, Tercres' lip curled up slightly in what could be considered a grin, though the scarring on his jaw made it anything but a cheerful sight, "I did." Brax's eyes somehow widened even further, and his shaking nearly made him redo an entire paragraph of his report. No one had ever seen Cooler's saiyan with any expression on his face, or at least seen it and lived to tell others, and now Brax feared he might be joining that latter group. Finishing his report, he swallowed heavily before stuttering "w-would you like m-me to send it out to th-the PT-T-O?" Tercres thought for a moment, 'it would be nice to let everyone know how strong I am, it's not like there are any that would actually look for such a fight,' Looking up at the trembling tech before him, he grabbed the proffered paper report then strode out, "Yes," His last words as the door closed on a Brax shuddering with relief.

Luck was with him; the saiyan didn't encounter anyone in the halls as he shambled to the pod bay. 'Of course,' he thought, 'after the power discharges during our fight, only an idiot would want to meet whoever won.' Pulling himself into the first available pod, he entered the coordinates to 3-86 N. Tercres couldn't think of anywhere else to go, the PTO would hunt for him, and he needed time to heal, 'if I can,' Tercres thought, after all, he had always had a regeneration tank at least, when injured previously. 'I'll get to this place, then we can play it by ear,' He decided, finally settled with the pod navigation system locked in. As the pod activated its suspended animation hardware for the journey, Tercres patted himself to make sure the bounty was in his possession, if the planet proved as dangerous as its reputation he might need it.

 **Present**

Cooler rose from the ki strike seemingly unaffected, and advanced on him, seemingly unhurt. "So weak, so pathetic," The tyrant gloated, as he grabbed Tercres' bad arm and began to pull, "This way you'll never raise arms against me again." Tercres tried not to but he couldn't help but scream at the pain, and as he _felt_ a ripping in his shoulder, he woke up.

Gasping for breath, and wiping a forehead dripping with sweat, he frantically looked around, eyes dilated to pinpricks and tail seemingly double its normal width as he scanned for threats. He found the room as he last left it: empty, and began to somewhat calm down. 'It was just a nightmare,' he thought to himself, 'nothing new, just one that you haven't seen before-' His thoughts were interrupted as the door slid open and the blue haired woman practically ran in. Striding to his side, she quickly began to ask "What happened? I heard screaming!" At her look Tercres wanted to groan in dismay. She had heard him during his one time of weakness, when he couldn't control himself: in his sleep. As she stood over him, Tercres did his best to turn away from her. Twisting as best he could with the bandaging, he grunted "Nothing happened, I'm fine." Bulma almost sighed, '10 years and once again I'm playing nurse to a saiyan that wants no part of it,' she thought, remembering Vegeta's hospital attitude all too well. She recognized much in common between her husband and Tercres, and she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere with sympathy or attention. Turning around, she started to exit the room, addressing Tercres as she did, "Well if you need anything let me know okay?" She almost snorted with laughter as a gruff "hn," was all that met her words, 'oh he is just like 'Geta!'

After the one slip up, Tercres managed to keep the terrors at bay, at least controlling his volume to prevent any more embarrassing revelations. The remainder of the week he spent alternating between stuffing his face and sleeping, unaccustomed to such bountiful food and amenable conditions. After years of Cooler starving him, his feasts now bordered on hedonism. The first meal had been splattered across the room by the time he found himself momentarily sated, but old lessons on custom quickly reasserted themselves, and by the third sitting Tercres had regained a grasp of (somewhat) polite eating.

The other occupants of Capsule Corp were constantly watching their guest, and all found something of him most interesting. Bulma couldn't help but see the similarities between Tercres and Vegeta when he first landed, and found herself drawn into nostalgic memories when around the surly guest. Vegeta meanwhile found himself back in less cheerful reminiscing, Tercres' manner and appearance calling him back to his servitude under Frieza, and the elder Trunks warily observed their guest for any signs of danger to the world. Of course, young Trunks thought his parent's houseguest had the coolest scars, and as Tercres acted just like his father in many regards the youth thought him a person to become friends with.

Tercres' wounds prevented any but the most passing contact with any of the Briefs, and aside from Bulma none of them ever spent any time with the mysterious saiyan. This would change today, as Goku finally arrived with the promised senzu bean. Even after Goku explained the function of the bean, Tercres merely stared at it suspiciously, as if the innocuous green bean in his palm would attack him. Vegeta understood, but he was tired of this interloper taking up a room and staying in his house, and he angrily exhorted Tercres, "Just eat the damn thing, if we wanted you dead we wouldn't have to resort to treachery!" The prince had a point, and Tercres saw the logic. Biting the proverbial bullet, he thought 'here goes,' and gulped it down. The miraculous healing left him awestruck, and as he stood and felt the new power in his veins he almost let his features warp into what might have one day become a smile. His mood soured however, when he looked down at his left hand. The arm was practically good as new, but the hand had been injured long before his last battle, and he found it as it had been for six years: missing a pinky and shortened in the palm. Following his sudden glare, Bulma and Goku were likewise shocked. "I wonder why it didn't heal your hand all the way," Goku wondered, "it healed everything else from your fight." Tercres turned his baleful gaze back from his hand to the people in front of him before starting, "I lost this years before my battle with Cooler," he coolly stated. At that Bulma jumped in, "oh! That makes sense, senzu beans don't heal old wounds, like scars, or your tail Goku!" At Bulma's words Goku seemed to brighten from his previous confusion and dismay, "Oh you're right Bulma! Phew, I was worried senzus weren't working so good anymore!" With the issue seemingly resolved, the naïve saiyan turned to Bulma and Vegeta, and with a "Let me know if you need help," to the former, and a "Tell me when you next wanna spar buddy!" to the latter, raised two fingers to his forehead and disappeared. Bulma stayed only to pull out the medical devices, and Vegeta left after warning Tercres that they would spar the next day.

Now that their guest had recovered, Vegeta intended to gauge what kind of fighter he was, and so he dragged Tercres out into a rocky outcrop far from civilization for a little spar. "Come at me with everything you have!" The prince shouted at Tercres, "Hold nothing back!" Still unsure if he was truly bluffing, Tercres nevertheless decided to humor his opponent. Widening his stance, he began to grunt as a red aura build up around him swirling while he harnessed his full power. The sight of Vegeta nonchalantly standing across from him, not even bothering to get into a stance, infuriated Tercres, and with his rage fueling his power higher he shouted and rushed for Vegeta.


	5. Legacy

Legacy

Vegeta smirked as Tercres rushed for him. The younger saiyan was certainly strong, seemingly close in power to Frieza when the tyrant had fully powered up, and this looked to be without any transformation to super saiyan. Impressive as it may have once been, Vegeta had fought against Buu, and this power was insignificant next to that monster. Still smirking Vegeta merely sidestepped the first punch, before effortlessly blocking everything Tercres threw his way.

Watching Vegeta block more and more of his blows without any discernable effort should have frightened Tercres to back off. Before he could however his mind seemed to go fuzzy, like it had after he defeated Cooler. Slowed for a fraction of a second in confusion, Tercres didn't notice Vegeta had gone on the offensive until a gloved fist smashed across his face and sent him back several yards onto his back. Quickly flipping to his feet, Tercres had no time to act before Vegeta was on him again, hammering him with punches that he could never seem to stop. Gasping for breath after a blow to the gut, Tercres thought to himself 'so he truly is strong,' right before a two handed hammer blow flew past his upraised hands and sent the saiyan ten feet underground.

Bursting forth with a growl, Tercres locked eyes with his tormentor, only to reel in confusion as Vegeta turned _away_ from him. As if sensing his disbelief, the prince spoke "You aren't worthy of my time, whelp," more arrogance creeping into his tone, Vegeta continued, "I doubt you even killed Cooler, you're so pathetic!"

Tercres' mind had cleared to an extent after his cratering, but at the prince's words the cloud rolled back into his mind, and rage filled him like never before. He could handle attacks on his ability, but to question his word and his honor about a battle was something Tercres could _not_ abide. Widening his stance and taking a step back, Tercres gritted his teeth as he brought both hands back near his right shoulder, and channeled all his energy into an attack. "RRRRRRRR," He growled, as a roiling red and orange aura seemed to spring up around him. Vegeta had turned and now awaited this new development with the same arrogant expression on his face as before. Sensing he couldn't hold it any longer, Tercres thrust his hands forward, and _screamed_ as he unleashed the **ruin flare** , a massive red-orange energy flashing forwards and expanding to fill his vision. Tercres forced himself to keep feeding energy into the attack, continuing to scream as his body felt like melting from forcing out so much energy so quickly.

When he lowered his hands and finally surveyed the results, he was met by a massive divot in the Earth, a directional crater that could fit a few mountains with space to spare, with the land all around twisted and blown away by the power he'd just unleashed. His vision began to fade as his body slipped into unconsciousness, but before Tercres knocked out a figure entered his vision. Swallowing heavily he found the strength to murmur, "impossible," before finally succumbing to fatigue, his last sight that of Vegeta, apparently not even scratched by his attack, and with glowing blonde hair and cyan eyes.

 **Fifteen Years Prior**

He loved sparring with his parents, it was the best part of the day. Following lectures on math and the saiyan people, Tercres' parents would take him outside and teach him the kata of the saiyans. His father showed him how to fight like a saiyan elite, while his mother demonstrated the techniques of the low class saiyan soldiers, and the two of them would work together to help him meld the styles together for his own katas.

This day he was to fight his mother, while his father observed and critiqued. As the two began the preliminary engagements, Tercres felt something different about the fight from normal. His mother seemed to be slower, and he saw openings in her stance. Sidestepping a flipping kick, he dove under the follow up fist and rolled past a stomping foot before shooting to his feet and launching himself with both fists extended into his mother's midsection. With a "whoomf" she collapsed, and declared the fight over. Looking down at her son with pride, she explained to Tercres, "You have surpassed me in strength, my son," with pride gleaming in her eyes, she continued "You must keep improving, to make your destiny and avenge the saiyans."

Her praise filled Tercres with happiness, but the second part of her statement befuddled the child, "destiny? Avenge the saiyans?" he asked, brow scrunched in confusion. His father, walking over from his position observing the fight, had heard everything. His eyes filled with old anger and sorrow as he bade Tercres sit and listen. "Do you wonder why you never see other saiyans besides us?" he asked his son. When Tercres indicated he did, his father nodded and continued, "We used to be a strong race, we worked for a tyrant called Frieza and lived on planet Vegeta." Seeing that Tercres understood he went on "But soon before you were born, Frieza betrayed us, and destroyed the planet, killing almost all the saiyans." At this, Tercres began to tear up a little, eyes becoming watery from sorrow, which gradually turned to anger that someone would kill all that were like him. Looking up, Tercres met his father's gaze and the man resumed his talk, "Frieza feared that a saiyan would rise up like the legends of old, and become a _super saiyan_ of unmatched power and potential, and for this he drove us nearly extinct." The story was finished, but the saiyan elite had more to tell his son, "You are the last son of Vegeta, Tercres, you must become the legend and kill Frieza." Tercres had heard the tale of the super saiyan before, but only now did he understand why he had been told the story so many times. Meeting his father's gaze, Tercres drew himself up to his diminutive full stature and boldly swore, "I will become the legend, and avenge our people!"

Within a few months of that moment, Cooler found his parents, killing them both and plunging Tercres into a world of naught but pain and darkness. Through the first several years, when the pain was unbearable and death beckoned with open arms, Tercres clung to his parents' words, embracing the pain as a step to ascension and turning away from death. The dream of the super saiyan kept him alive, and gave him hope in the dark. Until that is, the day that he heard that Frieza had been killed.

When the news spread throughout the PTO that Lord Frieza had died, at the hands of a saiyan no less, Tercres found himself without a direction, with no light in the darkness. His goal of redemption became one of personal revenge, to kill Cooler for his parents. He could no longer avenge his people, he could only hope to take revenge for his parents. But even that faded, after several more years of abuse Tercres merely wanted to kill Cooler in exchange for his own tortures at the frost demon's hands. With years, he grew closer and closer to his goal, but the legendary super saiyan seemed to fade into the recesses of his mind.

No matter the punishment he endured, Tercres never flagged in his belief in saiyan superiority, in his saiyan pride. And the fighting skills instilled in him by his parents where what kept him alive in the first place. Every planet provided a new proving ground to test his abilities and his skill, and with every battle Tercres refined his techniques and added to his repertoire. The fundamental nature of his fighting style remained unchanged from the distant days he spent learning it from his mother and father however, adaptations and new additions merely adding to his base approach. While he never thought of it, Tercres was the sole remaining practitioner of third class saiyan combat techniques.

It didn't take long for Tercres to realize that as a saiyan he was reviled and feared by many, both inside and outside the Planet Trade Organization. Under such scrutiny, one lesson was indelibly pounded into him, both literally and metaphorically: to reveal weakness is to invite pain and punishment. Cooler himself gave Tercres one of the first lessons in this; it was why half of his jaw rang metallically when struck. After he had recovered from the lizard's first _lesson_ Tercres quickly grasped the best solution: do not show weakness. And so he became "Tercres the grim," Cooler's saiyan planet-killer. As he strode the halls of PTO ships, he heard the murmurs: "I heard Cooler tore his tongue out!" "He doesn't need to eat or sleep," "Maybe he's Cooler's robot!" Tercres was always hearing new rumors, 'for better or worse,' he thought, 'they can't confirm anything, and so they have nothing to use against me,'

The rumors about him not needing to eat or sleep were common, side effects of the precautions Tercres took as the sole saiyan in the fleet. Before he became one of the strongest warriors in the universe, he feared for his life should he eat communally or sleep where others could find him. Thus he took meals covertly, and slept in hidey holes far removed from the normal ships' quarters. The acts became habit, and even when he could blast the whole ship to hell, crew and all, Tercres still slept in carefully concealed and specially locked personal cabins when not on missions.

The purge missions themselves were not what appealed to Tercres. The chance to test himself and grow stronger never failed to appeal to his saiyan instincts, and thus he relished the battles with planetary defenders. The slaughter that followed would interest him to a varying degree depending on the technological level of the planet, as well as what sort of fight he found beforehand. A pitiful showing preceded a genocide of weak fools who couldn't even defend themselves, while a good fight left him detached from the grunt work, only doing it as what must be done.

After the purging, the quiet solitude always relaxed the saiyan. The time alone, without any observers or tormentors, was almost as satisfying as the most hard fought of his battles. The solitude wasn't the only appealing part of the post purge wait; Tercres used the opportunities alone to power up and check his strength. Despite Cooler's insults to the contrary, Tercres was not stupid, he knew that Cooler would eliminate him if his power seemed to be approaching his own, one way or another. Preventing this meant keeping his true power hidden most of the time, lowering his strength from a level unparalleled by all except Cooler down to one comparable to the rest of the PTO elite soldiers. Yet every time he unleashed his full energies, Tercres could feel himself getting closer and closer to Cooler's strength.

 **Present**

Unconscious and lost in a haze of memory, the battered Tercres stirred feebly in Vegeta's grasp as the older saiyan hefted him over his shoulder and took off for Capsule Corp. When Tercres' ki began to elevate Vegeta slowed momentarily, prepared to act to counter aggression, but when the young saiyan's energies rapidly returned to normal and Tercres remained unconscious Vegeta flew on at his previous pace. While crossing an ocean the prince's thoughts wandered back to the earlier "spar" with the strange saiyan. 'It's like sparring with Raditz, or Nappa,' he thought, 'maybe both; this weakling fights like a hybrid of saiyan styles.' Narrowing his eyes, Vegeta continued to muse 'maybe the woman or the boy can pry more out of him,' as his home came into view and the Trunks both flew to greet him 'and help with the limp body on his shoulders,' he thought, Vegeta's thoughts kept on circling back to the boy's familiar stance and forms.

Vegeta did not answer when either Trunks asked what happened. Nor did Bulma receive any more information herself. After she finished putting Tercres back into his room, Vegeta merely indicated with a tilt of his head to follow then left the room to seek out the two Trunks. After the whole family stood before him and he was confident his young son was actually paying attention Vegeta started to speak. "He is holding back information," At this point he crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly, the effect being a look of pondering, "I will not attempt to find out more from him." Seeing the looks on their faces Vegeta quickly continued, "-You will have better luck in that," at this nodding at his family. At this the young Trunks began to grin, "Can I talk to him?" Vegeta merely looked at Bulma, he knew Trunks was stronger than Tercres, if slightly, so it was up to the woman. Bulma looked at her boy, then at the older version next to him and his father, before opening her mouth "If you're careful honey, we don't know much about him so stay alert okay?" Her child beamed at her, before scampering off to his room, shouting "Thanks Mom!" over his shoulder as he departed.

With that exit, the future Trunks turned to his father, "what made you tell us this?" he asked curiously, aware that Vegeta would only have told them all this for a reason. Glancing at his child from a different timeline, Vegeta stayed silent for a moment, before uncrossing his arms with a sigh, "he fought like Nappa and Raditz did," Looking at Bulma before she could interrupt he quickly finished "he is the sole remaining user of the third class saiyan techniques, and the last aside from myself to know the style of the saiyan elites." Finished, he walked out the door. The hum which filled the building shortly thereafter clued the Briefs in to his location.


End file.
